The DiMarzio DP163 Bluesbucker Humbucker Pickup looks like a standard humbucker, but sounds like a P90 and cancels 60-cycle hum as effectively as the average humbucker. This means any guitar with standard size humbuckers can now have the sound of P90s without altering the guitar in any way and without noise. Patented Virtual Vintage and Airbucker technology let the Bluesbucker "see" a narrow string window like a true single-coil, making it extremely sensitive to playing dynamics. When a pair of these pickups are on together, they achieve the open, slightly hollow sound that two single-coils produce. Splitting the pickup produces a sound similar to that of a Strat pickup, with very little drop in output.

Recommended For: All positionsThe coil with the 6 adjustable slotted poles is the "hot" coil. The coil with the solid poles is along for the ride to cancel hum and look cool. Since one coil is doing most of the work, the direction the Bluesbucker is installed makes an obvious difference in the sound. When the hot coil is closest to the bridge, the sound is brighter; towards the neck is warmer. Even though the look is a little nontraditional, we like the sound of the bridge pickup "backwards" (with the screw coil towards the neck). With a Bluesbucker in the neck position with the screw coil towards the bridge (also "backwards") the combined sound is Tele-like. With the neck pickup in the more traditional direction, the combination is like two P-90s. The Bluesbucker comes with special wiring instructions.

FEATURES

Replaces standard size humbuckers

Adds P90 tone without alteration to guitar

Changing direction offers different tones

Add one or two of these to get single-coil sounds from your dual-coil guitar. Order today.

I own or have owned many high-end instruments, including guitars with original PAF's Shaw PAF's and early P90's. I had picked up an Epiphone Dot ES-335 - NOT a high end instrument but surprisingly very well made. But the pickups (Chinese 57 Classics) are lacking when compared to PAF's, early patent number HB's and early P-90's - all fairly low output, articulate, clear-sounding pickups. Contrary to folklore PAF's sound more like a low-noise P90 than a modern high-output HB, and I was researching replacements to get a more vintage-type tone out of the Dot. I'd read recommendations specific to this guitar & decided to try the Bluesbuckers. Although hyped as a noiseless P90 I found them to have the clarity, articulation and tone of several types of PAF's (which actually vary quite a bit) with the slightly "raw" edge of a P90. The guitar simply "woke up" and sounds like a late-50's/early 60's Gibson ES-335. Reasonably priced, these pickups...in my case...made a huge, positive difference in the tone of the guitar. I also tested them in my '84 Les Paul Studio Standard and found them virtually identical to the stock Shaw PAF's. Highly recommended for vintage tone applications - they're not a screaming metal pickup.

I had looked at these for a while and I finally put a pair in my PRS CE 22(along with an Area 67' in the middle,)and all I can say is wow! These are very singlecoil sounding, and in split mode, they lose almost no output and sound nearly identical to strat pickups. If you are looking for a chimey P90 type sound, awesome. These DO NOT sound like humbuckers. They also mix with standard singlecoils very well!

While pickups are a personal taste, they should be given a lot of consideration. I used this one in the neck position with a Burstbucker 3 in the bridge. They play well together and I am happy with both. The Bluesbucker is more affordable than a Gibson or boutique pickups. I won't attempt to compare it with anything else, but it is fairly bright, which is what I wanted.

Overall, this is a great pickup and is very responsive and has a wide range. I prefer it not overly distorted but with mild overdrive. It made my S series prestige Ibanez sound a lot like an old Les Paul which is very cool. This particular guitar has really poor sustain - at no fault of this pickup. I do feel that this pickup helped this guitar sound better than what I had in the stock pickup. I installed it in the bridge position and tried the hot pole piece side first toward the neck. It was muddy so I put the hot side toward the bridge which helped brighten it up quite a bit. Overall, I would say this is a great pickup. Thank you Dimarzio. The Bluesbucker is supposed to have p90 tone without the hum. I put it in my Ibanez S prestige to change the guitar's character from heavy metal to a more bluestype of sound. Depending upon my amp settings this pickup did in fact sound like a p90 when not too much distortion was on. If I added distortion it would only retain p90 tones if the volume pot was tuned down minimally at around 2 or 3. Any past that and it mudded up really bad. But, for clean to mild overdrive it sounded fantastic - at least on this particular guitar. I have not tried it in any of my other guitars.I have several Dimarzio pickups and quality is always top shelf. Excellent price.

If you are looking for a pickup that has balls and is bluesy, look at the bluesbucker or the 36th anniversary by Dimarzio. I will say the bluesbucker is darker than the 36th anniversary and sounds slightly smoother from a normal paf...more like a p90. I highly recommendIt's like noby owns this pickup and I cannot understand why. It's one of the Dimarzio's best...and I have tried a lot of pickups in my 20 years. Pickup that features more treble and mids for bluesy tone for the neck or bridge on a guitar. I have it in the neck of my electra les paul and it sounds fantastic. Think a cross between a texas special and a paf. My electra les paul has an incredible bridge pickup but the beck was very muddy. I tried a few pickups out and ended up with the bluesbucker. It has everything I have been searching for. It's vintage output although it has punch and it has really great mids for the blues. I also have a 36th anniversary paf in another guitar and I found them to be similar in the sense thatthey have great mids where as the bluesbucker sounds a tad more like a P90. I highly reccomend both those pickups for the neck, best I ever heard.